Apparatus for propagating yeast.



No. 628,067. A Patented July 4, I899. u. BENDIXEN.

APPARATUS FOR PROPAGATING YEAST. (Applluflnn m pt. 3, 1898.) (No Model.)

we nonms vnzns co, PNOYO-LITHQ, WASHINGTON, n. c.

UNITED STATE PATENT OFFICE.

NIELS BENDIXEN, OF COPENHAGEN, DENMARK.

APPARATUS FOR PROPAGATING YEAST.

SPECIFICATION forming; part of Letters Patent No. 628,067, dated July 4,1899.

Application filed September 8,1898 Serial 'No. 690,513. (No model.)

To all whomit may concern:

Be it known that I, NIELS BENDIXEN, a subject of the King of Denmark,residing at Hauchs Vej 16, in the city of Copenhagen, in the Kingdom ofDenmark, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inPropagating Apparatus; and. I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear,and exact description of my said invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same, reference being had to the-accompanying drawing, and toletters and figures of reference marked thereon, which forms a part ofthis application.

This invention has relation to apparatus for cultivating or propagatingmicro-organisms, &c., and more particularly for the preparation of pureferments for use by brewers and distillers.

The invention has for its object the provision of means whereby thepropagating of micro-organisms or the preparation of ferments can bemade a' continuous one and whereby the inoculated liquid itself can beused in the treatment of successive batches of liquid.

In the accompanying drawing Ihave shown by a vertical sectionalelevation an apparatus embodying my invention.

Aindicates the propagating ves sel,provided at top with a valved brancha for the admission thereto of the propagating liquid and with means forintroducing the micro-organisms or a culture thereof, and at its bottomsaid vessel is provided with a discharge-cock 17 With this vessel arecombined, as usual, a revoluble agitator 15, a heating-coil 16, a

. level-indicator 12, a thermometer 14, and a valved air-inlet andgas-outlet branch 18, on which is secured a sterilizing-filter 13. Thevesselis further provided,nearitsbottom,with a valved outlet branch 19.The valves in the air-inlet and gas-outlet branch and in the branch forliquid are constructed in the form of stop-cocks 18 and 19, to the plugsof which are secured two armed levers 20 and 21, re-

spectively. One of the arms of each of said levers carries a weight 23and 24, respectively, While the other arms of the levers are connectedtogether by a shifting-rod 22, that carries an abutment 25, adjustablethereon by means of a set-screw 25. The arrangement of the weightedlevers 20 and 21 on the plugs of their respective stop-cocks 18 and 19is such as to hold the plug of stop-cock 18 normally in its closedposition and that of the stop-cock 19 in its open position.

With the propagating vessel organized as usual, except in so far as thearrangement of the stop-cocks 18 and 19 is concerned, I combine areceiver B, connected near its bottom by a flexible pipe 8 with theoutlet branch 19 of vessel A, said receiver being likewise provided witha level-indicator 4 and a valved air inlet and outlet branch carrying afilter 6 and a tube 5 for the introduction of the micro-organism or aculture thereof.

The receiver Bis of small capacity as compared with the capacity ofvessel A, yet of such capacity as to hold a quantity of a culture of amicro-organism sufiicient for its proper propagation in the charge ofpropagating liquid in the vessel A. Said receiver B is suspended fromoneof the arms of a twoarmed lever 1, whose other arm carries a weight 3,adjustable thereon by means of a set-screw. The lever 1 has its fulcrumat the upper end of a stand 2 of such height that the empty receiverBunder the action of the Weight 3 will be held above the level of thecharge in vesselA, or substantially so. From the bottom of the receiver13 projects a guiderod 10, that is guided in a; suitable opening.

in a platform 9, adjustable on stand 2 by means of a set-screw, and fromthe side of said receiver projects a rod 11 in contact with the abutmenton the valve-shifting rod 22 when the receiver isin its highestposition.

The operation of the apparatus may be briefly described as follows: Instarting the continuous operation a dose of a culture of amicro-organism is introduced into the previously-sterilized vessel A,either before or after the charge of the propagating liquid has beenadmitted thereto, the quantity of liquid being such as not to completelyfill the vessel, so as to leave a space above the liquid for thecollection of gas. The agitator 15 is then set in motion and steam isadmitted to the coil 16 to heat the liquid to the proper temperature ormaintain it at the proper temperature if the liquid has previously beensterilized by heat and then cooled down to a temperature suitable forthe propagation of the micro-organism. The growth of the micro-organismor pure-ferment culture in the liquid medium results in fermentation andevolution of carbonic-acid gas,which collects above the liquid, itspressure thereon gradually increasing until it becomes sufficient toforce the liquid through pipe 8 into receiver B. hen the quantity ofliquid inoculated with the growth of the micro-organism forced into thereceiver B is suiiicient to overbalance the weight 3 on lever 1, thesaid receiver sinks and, through its arm 11 acting upon the shifting-rod22, moves the latter down, thereby reversing the plugs of the stop-cocks18 and 19, so that the plug of the former will open the passage in theair-inlet and gasoutlet branch and, through the sterilizing-filter andthe plug of the stop-cock 19, will close the passage through the outletbranch for liquid connected with the receiver B, at which time thelatter will be seated on the platform 0,which thus serves as an abutmentfor limiting the downward movement of said receiver. The contents of thevesselA may now be discharged, after which the stop-cock in thedischarge-pipe 17 is closed, and if shifting-rod 22 is now moved upwardthe plugs of the valves or stop-cocks 18 and 19 will be shifted back totheir normal position to close the airinlet and gas-outlet and open theoutlet for liquid, thereby causing the liquid in receiver B to flow backinto vessel A for the inoculation of the next charge of propagatingliquid and the propagation of the micro-organisms.

As shown in the drawing, the weighted arms of the levers 20 and 21 onthe plugs of the stop-cocks l8 and 19 bear such relation to theirconnected arms that but a very slight downward movement of the receiverB will carry said weighted arms over their deadcenters, so as to almostinstantly reverse the plugs, thus insuring the transfer of a regulatedquantity of liquid from A to B, which quantity may also be read on thelevel-indicator and may be varied as circumstances may require by theadjustment of the abutment on the shifting-rod or the adjustment of theweight 3 on lever l, or both, the platform 9 being correspondinglyadjusted, if necessary.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. Apparatus such as described, comprising a propagating vessel having agas-outlet pipe provided with a valve normally closed, and with anoutlet for liquid provided with a valve normally open; of a movablereceiver, valve-shifting appliances operated thereby to open the valvein the gas-outlet pipe and close the valve in the outlet-pipe for liquidwhen said receiver moves in a given direction, and a flexible-pipeconnection connecting the receiver with the outlet branch for liquid,for the purpose set forth.

2. Apparatus such as described, comprising a propagating vessel having agas-outlet pipe provided with a valve, and with an outlet-pipe forliquid likewise provided with a valve, and weights acting upon saidvalves to hold one closed and the other open; of a receiver having arising motion under the action of a weight acting thereon, and adescending motion under its own weight when more or less filled, andvalve-shifting appliances operated by the receiver in descending andacting upon the weights to cause the latter to reverse the valves so asto open the one in the gas-outlet and close the one in the outlet forliquid, and a flexible-pipe connection connecting the latter outlet withthe receiver, for I the purpose set forth.

In apparatus such as described, the combination with a propagatingvessel having outlets for "as and liquid, each provided with a valve, aweighted lever on the stem of said valves arranged to normally keep thevalve in the gas-outlet closed and the one in the outlet for liquidopen, and a shifting-rod connected to both levers so as to reverse therelative positions of the valves when moved in one direction and restorethe same to their normal positions when moved in a reverse direction; ofa receiver, a weighted lever from which said receiver is suspended,means acting upon the aforesaid shifting-rod and set in operation by thedownward movement of the receiver whenever its weight overbalances theweight on its supporting-lever to reverse the valves and thereby openthe gas-outlet and close the outlet for liquid, and a flexible-pipeconnection between the latter outlet and the receiver, for the purposeset forth.

4. In apparatus such as described, the combination with a propagatingvessel having a gas-outlet and an outlet for liquid, each provided witha weight-controlled valve, said weights arranged to hold the valve inthe gasoutlet pipe so as to normally close the passage therethrough andto hold the valve in the outlet-pipe for liquid so as to normally keepthe passage therethrough open, and so that by a slight displacement ofthe weights the relative positions of said valves will be reversedopening the gas-outlet and closing the outlet for liquid; of a receiverhaving arising-and-descending motion respectively under a weight actingthereon and under its own weight when the latter over-balances theacting weight, mechanism set in motion by the descent of the receiverand acting upon the valve-weights to displace the same and therebyreverse the relative positions of said valves, and a flexible-pipeconnection between the receiver and the aforesaid outlet for liquid, forthe purpose set forth.

5. In apparatus such as described, the combination with a propagatingvessel having a gas-outlet and an outlet for liquid, each provided witha weight-controlled valve, said weights arranged to hold the valve inthe gasoutlet pipe so as to normally close the passage therethrough andto hold the valve in ICC the outlet-pipe for liquid so as to normallykeep the passage therethrough open, and so that by a slight displacementof the weights the relative positions of said valves will be reversedopening the gas-outlet and closing the outlet for liquid; of a receiverhaving a rising-and-descending motion respectively under a weight actingthereon and under its own weight when the latter overbalances the actingweight, mechanism set in motion by the descent of the receiver andacting upon the valve-weights-to displace the same and thereby reversethe relative positions of said valves, an adjustable. abutment forlimiting the descending motion of the receiver, and a flexible-pipeconnection between the receiver and the aforesaid outlet for liquid, forthe purpose set forth.

6. In apparatus such as described, the combination with a propagatingvessel having a gas-outlet and an outlet for liquid each provided with astop-cock, a two-armed weighted lever on the plug of said stop cooks,the weighted arms of said levers being on their upper verticaldead-centers when their respective valves are closed and open, and ashifting-rod connected with the other arms'of said levers; of a receiverhaving ascendingand-descending motion under the action of a weightthereon and under its own weight, re-

spectively, whenever its own weight is sufficiently increased, and meansactuated by the receiver on descending, and acting upon the shifting-rodto move the weighted arms of the aforesaid levers over theirdead-centers, 3 5 and thereby reverse the relative positions of thevalves, and a flexible pipe connecting the receiver with theaforementioned outlet for liquid, for the purpose set forth.

7 In apparatus such as described, the combination with apropagatingvesselihaving gas and liquid outlets each provided with a stopcook, theWeighted levers 20 and 21 on the plugs of said cocks, the connecting-rod22 connected to one arm of each lever, and a vertically-adjustableabutment on said rod; of the stand 2, the adjustable platform 9, theweighted lever 1,and the receiver B suspended from said lever andprovided with the actuating-arm 11 and the guide-rod 10, and a flexiblepipe connecting said receiver with the outlet for liquid of thepropagating vessel, for the purpose set forth.

' In testimony that I claim .the foregoing as my invention I have signedmy name in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

- NIELS BENDIXEN. Witnesses:

S. AMMI'JND, Jun.,

AUG. ANDERSEN.

